The Retirement From Geese
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day fifty-seven: 12 Days of Gleekmas, Day 6: Puck is losing clients, as his focus starts to change.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle. Now entering the seventh through ninth weeks, here comes cycle 3 of my gleekathon!_

_I wanted to do something Christmas-y, but not overly so, but then the song was perfect for this. So the stories in and of themselves aren't Christmas-themed, just the thing that inspired them is ;) You'll see :)_

_So presenting... **The 12 Days of Gleekmas - Day 6:** Puck + "Six Geese A'Laying"_

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**"The Retirement From Geese"  
Puck, Puck/Quinn-tones**

He hadn't dared believe… that was the problem. He'd wanted to believe that he could actually make it work with Quinn, and the baby… but it wasn't in him to ignore the things piled up against him. He knew who he was, wasn't too likely to change. For a while he thought that would all work out fine, and he could have it all.

He'd kept to this view, and then… all hell had broken loose – hell, and his face. He didn't expect any less, he'd probably… he'd definitely have done the same thing in his place, done a lot of damage.

Foolishly, he'd made himself believe again, made himself believe he had his moment now, and he should step in and take it. He'd put himself out there for Quinn to take… and she'd shot him down. Once again, he hadn't expected any less. All his expectations had been met, which could only leave room for the unexpected.

Watching her walk away, he felt something in him aching. He'd done this to her, he was realizing it more and more as he was coming to see just how much he cared for her. He was sabotaging himself and he never even knew it until he had to see the hurt, the disappointment in her eyes.

He'd gained ground, he knew he had. But then… sabotage. And now he was further out of reach than he'd been before. He didn't realize how much it mattered, didn't see how he was subconsciously trying to course-correct his misdeeds, not until he lost his third client.

The majority of his clientele had come out of word of mouth. All it took was for one satisfied customer to go off and blab to one of her fellow desperate mama friends… It was like shooting sexually deprived fish in a barrel.

He'd started heading into that period where weather shut down his business… and yet, the calls were still rolling in. But when he'd gone to work, answering those calls, he'd been much more inclined to just do his job – the one he was meant to – and do it well. He wasn't even picking up on the clues anymore… the requests for assistance on thinly veiled tasks/advances, the offers for refreshments inside the house… He asked for his payment and he was on his way. He'd lost one customer to – supposedly – the woman's nephew. The second customer was 'thinking of getting rid of the pool,' but they promised he'd be contacted otherwise…

His third client wasn't so subtle about dismissing him. She'd been his first 'privileged' client, something she knew and considered to make her special. She'd evidently felt her pool boy pulling away from her, which of course meant there was just one thing to do: She had to crank up the juice on her efforts.

He'd turned at one time, reaching for something in his box… and he'd startled to find his client just bare inches away from him. He just managed to keep from knocking a bottle into the pool.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Wyatt. Didn't see you there." He slowly sidestepped her, getting back to work. He knew she hadn't backed away… he ignored it… until he felt a hand moving down his back. "Pool's done," he grabbed his things, moving back. "It'll be the regular price," he spoke, not meeting her eye.

"Are you sure, Noah?" she asked, trying to sound sweet, instead of frustrated… which was what she was.

"I'm sure." He heard a little humph before she moved to get his money. When she returned with it, he could see her trying to use the handoff as her last ditch effort. When he just took the money and stuffed it in his pocket though, she knew… the shop was closed, game over. She stood up straighter, pulling her clothes in place.

"Thank you, Noah, for your services. I'm going to have to let you go," she gave a small 'apologetic' smile.

As he'd been driving away, that was when the pieces had started falling into place and he'd realized the first two clients' flimsy excuses were in fact excuses, just barely hiding the truth of his dismissal.

The thing was… he didn't really mind. There was no more joy to the idea of his extracurricular activities. His 'virtue' was protected, shielded, by the image of that look on Quinn's face.

He couldn't just go bragging to her about it – if she didn't know about all this, his telling her wouldn't go and help matters. And if she did know – which would hardly surprise him – it wasn't as though his restraint would get him back all the points he'd lost with her.

It was an uphill battle. He had to just keep on climbing, knowing that she would be at the top… her, and their daughter. He knew Quinn wanted to give her up, and he wasn't going to argue – he could understand wanting to make sure she would be well taken care of. It was hard not to think about the other option, about seeing her grow up. He'd just hate thinking about her thinking she wasn't wanted… he knew what it was like, through his experience with his father… that wasn't what he wanted for her life.

But more than anything, he was climbing that hill for Quinn. His motives with her hadn't always been what they were now; he wasn't going to deny it. But the months that had followed, with Glee Club, and the pregnancy… He'd been made to realize she meant a whole lot more.

It was just still so new – uncharted territory – there were so many opportunities for him to screw up… He'd already taken a few of them. He was taking steps though, he was trying… There could only be hope that he wouldn't be too late.

THE END


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